The thawing of permafrost exposes organic matter to decomposition but also mineral constituents to water. To evaluate the potential to create mineral nutrients hotspots upon thawing, an inventory of the mineral element content and its local variability in permafrost terrain is needed. Based on measurements from major Arctic regions (Alaska, Greenland, Svalbard and Siberia), it is suggested that the mineral reserve in permafrost is firstly controlled by the local lithology. More specifically, the data highlight the potential for mineral nutrient hotspots to be generated upon thawing in soils derived from deltaic deposits, but not in thermokarst deposits. Finally, we suggest that portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) may present a quick and low-cost alternative to total digestion and ICP-AES measurements to build a mineral element inventory in permafrost terrain at a large spatial scale.